User blog:LilLanie/Huntress Build Comparison Results
Source (Oct 27th, 2014): Build Comparison Results (Forums) ________________ Adjusting to how builds work, I have three different Huntress Builds: Archer (Hero), Grenadier (Ability), and Trapper (Defense). (These are the name of the builds, their character names are much... cuter.) Each of them grinded together, taking turns on which one I would play as, and are now half way to cap. Doing this, I've gotten to see how each build differs. I expected the difference to be consistent, but it isn't. An Archer would be a Huntress which is focused on Basic Attacks. Mine even has a nice Stun-on-hit bow, as well as the usual two DPS specs. Every single one of her gears give her Hero Power. A Grenadier would be a Huntress which is focused on Ability Attacks, mostly Concussive Shot (or Concussion Grenade as I like to call it). Mine does this with a nice bow that increases Concussion Stun Duration, otherwise being assigned for close combat and anti air. All of her gear also gives Ability Power. A Trapper would be a Huntress which is focused on Defensive Attacks, which does mean Defense Power. However, mine got her hands on a nice Trap Radius bow, but this one gives Hero and Defense Health, instead of the usual Defense Power and Health that I had been going for. She uses her trap Specs though still, and her other gears focus on Defense Health and Power. This results in the following item stats: *Archer (L11): 154 Hero Power, 0 Ability Power, 0 Defense Health, 70 Defense Power, 91 Defense Speed. (Those last two mostly coming from her bow, because all bows give Hero Power, so I didn't care about the rest. Probably would have preferred elemental damage and hero health though, both being 0.) *Grenadier (L12): 120 Hero Power (and 48 Life), 160 Ability Power (Base only gives 116), 22 Defense Health, 0 Defense Power, 57 Defense Speed. (Considering how she's always close range attacking, I probably would have preferred more Hero Life/Power instead of those Defense stats...) *Trapper (L14): 111 Hero Power (and 27.5 Life for repairs), 0 Ability Power, 93 Defense Health, 41 Defense Power, 27 Defense Speed. (Overall means the Archer gets to see more trap damage, but her traps don't live nearly as long). What is the result of these stats? *Basic Attacks (Point Blank Range DMG): Archer (361), Grenadier (275), Trapper (270). *Ability Attacks (Concussion Grenades DPS): Archer (367), Grenadier (680), Trapper (288). *Defense Attacks (L1 Dart Trap DPS): Archer (164), Grenadier (173), Trapper (203). *Defense Life (L1 Dart Trap Health): Archer (1815), Grenadier (2123), Trapper (3047). *Hero Life: Archer (635), Grenadier (695), Trapper (702). Thus, observations. _____________________ Foremost, even with minimal changes in Hero Power, everyone does 75% of the damage the Archer is capable of. First off, the fact that you can't actually build for DPS then with anything except specs is kinda insane, and secondly this means that long range spec is OP. The Archer can do 525 from the weapon store desk too. It means, if you're a Trapper or Grenadier, but you have a bunch of Specs in Long Range, you're also DPS. Ability Spamming so far has been the most fun build I have, but the results show this even stronger. First off, the fact that both the Archer and the Trapper are not doing the same damage is suspicious, the damage seems really similar to the basic attacks, making me believe that Long Range is affecting Concussive Shot. But even with that, actually dedicating to Ability Power lends a SUBSTANTIAL increase in damage, Grenadier does 2.36 times more damage than Trapper, with Trapper doing only 42% of the damage possible to Grenadier. Even if Hero Power plays any affect on this, as mentioned that doesn't actually change much, Ability Power seems way more amazing. Then again, the impact on base stats is also way more significant too than most stats. Building traps (and those dart towers) is nice and all, but damage stats aren't reflecting effort here. Archer, currently lowest level, has the highest damage stats for defenses, but does the least damage. Grenadier doesn't even have Defense Power, but the actual shots are doing almost as much (Hit: Archer-40, Grenadier-33, Trapper-39. DoT: Archer-88, Grenadier-74, Trapper-86). The return on Defense Damage Stats is incredibly low, to the point that it seems it isn't even worth worrying about. Just like DPS build, all you really want to worry about is Specs. Defense Health seems to be having a much better impact however, even considering level, we've got about a 25-33% increase going on. This means, that bow I'm using, isn't a bad design for a builder, as item stats for Defense Health is the only really important stat to worry about as a builder. The return on health for things meanwhile, first off, Hero Health isn't even that amazing. Sure, Archer is the only one without health, costing her about 65 hp of those who only invested 48 life, and that is 10% of hp. But a 10% change for like 50 Hero Health (and I have no idea what is giving that because the only gear she has giving life is a relic giving 19) simply pales compared to what some of the other stats are doing, especially ability power. So far, in review, this means that if every single gear you had gave it's usual damage/resistance, and then you also had ALL of them give both Ability Power and Defense Health (with Weapon possibly getting Lightning damage instead of Defense Health), then you got Long Range and maybe Drenched (eventually possibly investing in some Charged Primary and/or Fire For Effect), you end up with a hybrid build that actually does just as well as a non hybrid. This uneven distribution result of stats is really unbalanced and in serious need of getting fixed... because this means I just found the single only best carbon-copy build that does everything... which shouldn't be possible. Additionally, after testing it, I've discovered that yes, Concussive Shot and Oil Flask are both affected by the Long Range Spec. However, possibly due to how it works, Piercing Shot is not affected. (Due to how much it costs, Piercing Shot doesn't get much use from me anyway...) ______________________ Since I had written the above, 10 days earlier, I have discarded two of my Huntresses and have adopted the above "does it all" build to great effect. Adopting a full Ability Power / Trap Health build has allowed me to achieve everything (although, I've not been happy with sacrificing stats for elemental damage). My specs then include mostly Long Range and Drenched, but have a bit of Charged Primary and Run 'n Gun (which I personally like for manuverability). In combat, this means my defenses mostly include Geyser Traps, with a few Blaze Balloons thrown in for extra effect. I otherwise do my own DPS, mostly by spamming a combination sequence of Concussive Shot and Oil Flask (and then jumping backwards after using either to increase the damage). Using the "drop all your mana before the match begins" trick, sustaining mana for ability spams is really easy. While doing this, I make sure to shoot a lot. This means I've achieved all three builds in a single character, she explicitly does all three tasks as well as any of the past build did for their one task. Even end game, she does everything I might want from a Huntress, so at the moment she's the only character I need to even play. Some day, I might look at the other heroes too. But first, we would need a model version I would actually consider using. When the option occurs, I might create a few new girls to try out other hero builds, but for now, Raine (who used to be the Grenadier) is the only character I need. Category:Blog posts